The 914 is a peculiar little thing, an odd sports car even for its time. Designed in collaboration with Volkswagen, the grandfather of the 718 series relies on a flat-four engine – the Type 4 – with three displacement options.
Chassis number 4762902680 is a 2.0-liter model and a U.S. specification, acquired by the current owner in 2014. Offered at no reserve on Bring a Trailer with two days of bidding left, the car also features fuel injection, a good ol’ five-speed manual transmission, and the Appearance equipment group.
Appearance is Porsche talk for dual horns, auxiliary gauges on the center console, integrated fog lights, and a storage compartment for the center console, that kind of stuff. According to the online listing, the seller has thoroughly serviced the 914 during his ownership by replacing the exhaust muffler, fuel pump, brake master cylinder, as well as the right rear caliper. The problem with this car, however, is the corrosion that’s slowly eating into the chassis.
The 914 was never galvanized from the factory, which is why all of them are suffering from rust. From a mechanical standpoint, however, the car is pretty solid thanks to the simplicity and durability of the drivetrain. Another problem that potential buyers should know about this particular car is that “the fuel gauge is inaccurate,” a fix that does not call for a 914 specialist.
BaT also notes “leaking from the axle seals and that the heater boxes, fuel filter, distributor, spark plugs, and wires are in need of replacement.” Reading between the lines, whoever ends up with the car needs to spend some money fixing all of these issues, especially the corrosion mentioned earlier.
1976 models with the 2.0-liter boxer like this fellow here crank out 101 PS (99 horsepower) and 160 Nm (118 pound-feet) of torque, and this brings us to the successor of the 914. For the 2021 model year, the 718 also features a 2.0-liter engine but it develops 300 PS (296 horsepower) and 380 Nm (280 pound-feet) of torque thanks to turbocharging and direct injection.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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